Team Valor International will purchase a barn at Fair Hill Training Center in northeast Maryland and turn all of its horses over to trainer Graham Motion effective immediately.
The partnership group made the announcement Nov. 11. Team Valor president Barry Irwin said he and Motion reached a “mutual agreement” prior to the Nov. 5-6 Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
Motion will continue to operate his public stable out of his current barn at Fair Hill, but he will be the only trainer Team Valor will employ.
“It’s a good opportunity for us,” said Motion, who trains Shared Account, upset winner of the Nov. 5 Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (gr. IT). “Team Valor has some very nice horses.”
One of the horses moving to Motion’s barn is Pluck, who won the Nov. 6 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. IIT) for Team Valor and trainer Todd Pletcher. Pluck was scheduled to arrive at Fair Hill later in the week of Nov. 8 and is under consideration for the Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Ire-I) next year.
“I remember when Fourstars Allstar was trained on the East Coast and was sent over to win the Irish Two Thousand Guineas,” Irwin said. “I always had in mind to try to duplicate that feat if we ever came up with a proper candidate. I think Pluck could be that horse. I mentioned this to Graham, and he shares my enthusiasm for the project.”
Irwin said the primary reason for making the move from various racetracks to one training center is the opportunity to have one set of eyes on all of his horses on a daily basis.
“I will miss our current trainers,” Irwin said. “I have the highest admiration for them and they have done a super job for the stable. But at this stage of our stable’s development, we think we can have a more cohesive business and training environment with all of our horses in one place.”